London archaeologists find Roman eagle statue

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Updated 6:02 PM ET, Wed October 30, 2013

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Museum of London Archaeology conservator Luisa Duarte dusts a Roman sculpture of an eagle clutching a serpent, dating from the first or second century. It was dug up at a site in the City of London, the UK capital's financial center, which is known once to have been home to a Roman cemetery. The statue is 26 inches tall and made of limestone. It will be on display at the Museum of London for the next six months.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – View of excavations at Bloomberg Place, which is currently the largest commercially funded development project in the world. The site embraces the longest stretch of the Roman Walbrook left in the City.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A complete amber Gladiator amulet. Seven meters of archaeology have been excavated, including remains covering the entire Roman occupation of Britain -- from the mid 40s AD to the early 5th century.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman bull plaque. Ten thousand accessioned finds have been discovered at the site. This is the largest assemblage of small finds to have ever been recovered on a single excavation in London.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman copper-alloy brooch.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman iron knife.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A mystery leather item. This site has supplied the largest quantity of Roman leather to have ever been unearthed in London.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Roman copper-alloy plate brooch with blue enameling.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – An inked Roman letter. Over 100 fragments of Roman writing tablets have been unearthed, including an affectionate letter.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A ceramic oil lamp depicting a stag. Approximately 700 boxes of pottery fragments will be analyzed by MOLA -- Museum of London Archaeology -- specialists.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Complete Roman ceramic beaker.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Roman leather carbatina (a shoe.)

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Roman fist and phallus. The largest assemblage of fist and phallus good luck charms from one site was discovered.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A bone sword handle.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman woven basket. Some 3,500 tonnes of soil have been excavated by hand. That amounts to 21,000 barrows of spoil (soil).

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman tiled floor. Some 75,000 man hours have been spent excavating and recording the extraordinary archeology on site.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Timber foundation beams from a Roman building.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – A Roman timber drain. Complex Roman drainage systems used to discharge waste from industrial buildings into the Walbrook River.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – Mithras column, part of a previously undiscovered section of the Temple of Mithras. The Temple and finds from the current excavation will become part of a publicly accessible exhibition within Bloomberg's European headquarters.

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Photos:Pompeii of the north

Pompeii of the north – The first excavation of the Temple of Mithras excavation in 1954 by eminent archaeologist W.F. Grimes. The discovery was perhaps the most famous excavation of the 20th century, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to see the work unfold.

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Story highlights

Archaeologists says the statue is in an "almost unbelievable" state of preservation

The sculpture of an eagle grasping a snake was found in a dig in the City of London

The limestone statue may once have graced a mausoleum, archaeologists say

It's been dated by experts to the first or second century

A Roman sculpture of an eagle with a writhing serpent firmly gripped in its hooked beak was unveiled Wednesday in London, where archaeologists found it on a site earmarked for a hotel development.

Archaeologists in London say the statue is one of the very best examples surviving from Roman Britain.

"The skill of the craftsman is apparent; with the forked tongue of the snake and the individual feathers of the eagle still clearly discernible," a news release from Museum of London Archaeology said.

The archaeologists were "at first hesitant to announce the discovery and to proclaim its Roman origins, owing to its almost unbelievable preservation," it said.

But the limestone statue, which stands nearly 26 inches tall, has now been dated by experts to the first or second century.